Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
First Birthday Party
Tomorrow will be 6 weeks since I returned to work and the kids returned to daycare (school, as they call it.) Monday, Cooper received his very first birthday party invitation since starting at the center, and he's looking forward to it. I'm really happy that in just over a month, both Cooper and Ava have already made so many friends, and are already full swing into the fun and friendship that goes along with it.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Kids and Their Catalogs
Recently, we got a copy of Oriental Trading Company's Party Catalog; a catalog of birthday and other party supplies. It was on the coffee table, when Cooper noticed it and decided to "read" it. It became an interesting "read" for him, because, in essence, it's mostly pictures, and he immediately got idea that it was a magazine all about different parties. He started taking it around with him, reading it at the table, in the playroom, and, as you'll see, other places. Very shortly, he announced, and proudly showed us, which party he wants for his birthday party (10 months away.) He's chosen the Dinosaur Party (surprise, surprise!) And he's roped Ava in, showing her all the Princess and Dora parties she can have for her birthday.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Ava's Assessment
Ava's assessment with the county for speech continues, though less frequently, and we met at her daycare for a 3 month review. She did awesome! In fact, her assessor couldn't believe the change in language she displayed, and said with one exception, she was doing exceptional, hitting all language milestones. The one thing she didn't display during the assessment, was using "ing" words. Interestingly enough, when we got home (after a crying episode), she said "Mommy, I not crying anymore."
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Little House, Little House of Sickies
Well, Heidi, Cooper and Ava lived in a cocoon for the past year, or so it seems. Now that we've all been exposed to others, our lives have drastically changed! Of course we went to playgroups, restaurants, etc., but 8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week exposure is more than a well sheltered immune system is ready for. In the first month since returning to daycare/work, Ava had the stink eye (pink eye), Heidi had had a 4-day head/chest cold, then Joey got the stink eye, Ava woke this morning out of sorts and vomited all over Mommy and is now sleeping it off, while Mommy woke to her turn at the stink eye. The only one, thus far, unscathed is Cooper. Keeping fingers crossed it will all end soon! :-)
Friday, September 12, 2008
Shopping Carts
Twice in as many days I saw people leave their shopping carts in the parking lots instead of walking them to the stalls that stores provide in the lots (or at the front of the store.) In most cases, the stalls are usually within 5 spaces of where anyone parks.
So here's my .02 on this; please people, put your carts in the stalls. I had Cooper and Ava with me, and once I a cart started rolling into the path of vehicles (slope of the road caused it to start rolling), and the second time, the abandoned cart caught a stiff wind and started rolling into straight into the driver door of a parked vehicle. It would have taken no time to return the carts, and avoid the damage that the cart users were, now, no longer there to witness. Both times, I was able to rush with the kids and stop them, but it still bothers me.
Because the store provides a place to return the carts, the store is NOT liable for damage to the vehicles made by shopping carts. In fact, the person who left the cart out IS. That would mean if someone left a cart out, and a witness saw that cart hit another vehicle and took their information and reported it, the individual who left the cart (not the store) can be turned in/sued for the damage
.
Another way to look at it is this; if you were assaulted with a baseball bat in a sporting goods store, who would be responsible? Not the store.
So here's my .02 on this; please people, put your carts in the stalls. I had Cooper and Ava with me, and once I a cart started rolling into the path of vehicles (slope of the road caused it to start rolling), and the second time, the abandoned cart caught a stiff wind and started rolling into straight into the driver door of a parked vehicle. It would have taken no time to return the carts, and avoid the damage that the cart users were, now, no longer there to witness. Both times, I was able to rush with the kids and stop them, but it still bothers me.
Because the store provides a place to return the carts, the store is NOT liable for damage to the vehicles made by shopping carts. In fact, the person who left the cart out IS. That would mean if someone left a cart out, and a witness saw that cart hit another vehicle and took their information and reported it, the individual who left the cart (not the store) can be turned in/sued for the damage
.Another way to look at it is this; if you were assaulted with a baseball bat in a sporting goods store, who would be responsible? Not the store.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Mama Love
Ava: "My Mommy."
Cooper: "No, my Mommy."
A: "My Mommy."
C: "NO, my Mommy!"
A: "Myyyy Mommy."
C: (crying now) "Mommy, Ava says you're her Mommy! You're my Mommy!"
Me: "You guys are lucky! I'm both your Mommy! I was Cooper's Mommy, and then when Ava was born I became Ava's Mommy, too! Isn't that great!"
A: "My Mommy."
Ava loves to get Cooper's goat, she knows what gets him upset, and these days it's who's Mommy I am.
It occurred to me this weekend, as we were out with the kids, and they were fighting over who's Mommy I was, that they didn't do that when I was home with them. When I was home, we spent all day together, having fun, but also doing the day to day things; laundry, dishes, cleaning up the playroom. When Joey got home each day, it was a mad rush for Daddy; he was the one they cared to spend their evening climbing on, talking to, sharing with. Which was usually fine with me, I'd had them all day! But I did feel like chopped liver sometimes by the degree to which they emoted over him!
When I returned to work I was so worried about losing time with them, and concerned they would feel abandoned. While they might have been upset in the first few weeks, what seems to have happened is they've found me in a new light! When I pick them up, I get "Mommy, I missed you!" I get tons of hugs until bedtime, and stories about school.
On weekends, the time together is great. The art they do reflects their love of their family; Cooper was asked to draw himself on a schoolbus; he added Mommy, Daddy, Ava and Greta on the Bus. When asked to Draw his Grandparents, again, he added Mommy, Daddy, and Ava to the picture. And, he misses Ava. He asks almost daily when she'll turn 3 so she can move into his classrooom. This weekend he told me he "dreams about when she turns 3."
Going back to work hasn't been so easy, but the kids have made it much nicer, and easier to bear.
Cooper: "No, my Mommy."
A: "My Mommy."
C: "NO, my Mommy!"
A: "Myyyy Mommy."
C: (crying now) "Mommy, Ava says you're her Mommy! You're my Mommy!"
Me: "You guys are lucky! I'm both your Mommy! I was Cooper's Mommy, and then when Ava was born I became Ava's Mommy, too! Isn't that great!"
A: "My Mommy."
Ava loves to get Cooper's goat, she knows what gets him upset, and these days it's who's Mommy I am.
It occurred to me this weekend, as we were out with the kids, and they were fighting over who's Mommy I was, that they didn't do that when I was home with them. When I was home, we spent all day together, having fun, but also doing the day to day things; laundry, dishes, cleaning up the playroom. When Joey got home each day, it was a mad rush for Daddy; he was the one they cared to spend their evening climbing on, talking to, sharing with. Which was usually fine with me, I'd had them all day! But I did feel like chopped liver sometimes by the degree to which they emoted over him!
When I returned to work I was so worried about losing time with them, and concerned they would feel abandoned. While they might have been upset in the first few weeks, what seems to have happened is they've found me in a new light! When I pick them up, I get "Mommy, I missed you!" I get tons of hugs until bedtime, and stories about school.
On weekends, the time together is great. The art they do reflects their love of their family; Cooper was asked to draw himself on a schoolbus; he added Mommy, Daddy, Ava and Greta on the Bus. When asked to Draw his Grandparents, again, he added Mommy, Daddy, and Ava to the picture. And, he misses Ava. He asks almost daily when she'll turn 3 so she can move into his classrooom. This weekend he told me he "dreams about when she turns 3."
Going back to work hasn't been so easy, but the kids have made it much nicer, and easier to bear.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Exercise at Work
I had to attend a new employee orientation last week, which wasn't too helpful because, sadly, HR is similar here as other places, not too helpful. However, one need benefit I discovered, that wasn't ever advertized at Camp Pendleton (I don't think anyone knew of the order) is a Marine Corps Bulletin (MCBUL) that allows the Marine Corps to match an employees lunch break (30 minutes) with an additional 30 minutes if they choose to use it to work out/implement and follow a fitness routine! How great is that!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Scenes from North Carolina
Scenes from here at our house here in Maysville, NC during Tropical Storm Hanna.
Friday, September 5, 2008
More pillows...
Just to make daycare more special, I made the kids each one more pillowcase for their daycare pillows; SpongeBob for Cooper, and Disney Fairies for Ava. Now each week they can pick which special pillow they want for the week.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wondertwins, Activate!
They kids LOVE to have us tie kitchen towels around their necks, and then run around the house yelling, "superpower!" But the towels are really nothing more than a shoulder cover, barely a cape, and so small they are hard to tie. But the love it! So I went to the fabric store last week and bought enough fabric to make them real capes!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
22nd MEU Family Day
Now that Joey is with the 22nd MEU, we attended their Family Fun Day. The kids had a blast, and it was a nice event. I even ran into one of the other Mamas from my playgroup; her husband works with Joey at the MEU, so when they deploy, we'll have each other to talk about things with! Small world...
Monday, September 1, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Big Girl, Little Clothes
This cute little shirt Ava is wearing used to be a dress she wore when she was a baby; it's a size 3-6 month dress! I was saving because I couldn't bear to get rid of it; for some reason we decided to try it on her and, voila, it fit as a shirt!Sadly, during crafts later that day, she got a hold of Cooper's "saftey" scissors, that are only supposed to cut paper, and managed to shred the front of the dress. So much for saving it... :-(
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Jhoon Ree Means Might for Right
Flash back to the eighties, for anyone in the DC area! No body bothers me, either!! ;-)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
What is a MILITARY Wife?
A friend sent this to me, and thought it was worth sharing.
What is a MILITARY Wife?
They may look different and each is wonderfully unique
But this they have in common.
They have THIS IN COMMON!
lots of moving---
moving
moving
moving far from home
moving two cars, three kids and one dog----all riding with HER of course
moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house
moving curtains that won't fit
moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours
moving away from friends moving toward new friends
moving her most important luggage; her trunk full of memories
often waiting-
waiting, waiting, waiting for housing; waiting for orders; waiting
for deployment; waiting for reunion; waiting for phones calls;
waiting for the new curtains to arrive; waiting for him to come home for dinner----AGAIN!
They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better
she can balance a checkbook
handle the yard work
fix a noisy toilet.
She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move, --
--all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
Reinvents her career with every PCS; locates a house in the desert,
the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.
She is fiercely IN-dependent
Military Wives are somewhat hasty
They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives,
churches and friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other.They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network and accept offersof friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.
Military Wives have a common bond. The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands. His commitment is unique. He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' he can't just decide to quit.
He's on-call for his country 24/7 but for you, he's the most...
Unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign: TDY, PCS, OPR, ACC, BDU
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long-distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.
Military Wife has her moments--
She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to move to Siberia.
But she pulls herself together. Give her a few days, a travel brochure, along hot bath, a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture.
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why? What for? How come? You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man
who puts duty first
who longs to deploy
who salutes the flag
and whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military husband,
She will remain his Military wife.
What is a MILITARY Wife?
They may look different and each is wonderfully unique
But this they have in common.
They have THIS IN COMMON!
lots of moving---
moving
moving
moving far from home
moving two cars, three kids and one dog----all riding with HER of course
moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house
moving curtains that won't fit
moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours
moving away from friends moving toward new friends
moving her most important luggage; her trunk full of memories
often waiting-
waiting, waiting, waiting for housing; waiting for orders; waiting
for deployment; waiting for reunion; waiting for phones calls;
waiting for the new curtains to arrive; waiting for him to come home for dinner----AGAIN!
They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better
she can balance a checkbook
handle the yard work
fix a noisy toilet.
She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move, --
--all with ONE Power of Attorney.
She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
Reinvents her career with every PCS; locates a house in the desert,
the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.
She is fiercely IN-dependent
Military Wives are somewhat hasty
They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives,
churches and friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.
Military Wives quickly learn to value each other.They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network and accept offersof friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.
Military Wives have a common bond. The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands. His commitment is unique. He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' he can't just decide to quit.
He's on-call for his country 24/7 but for you, he's the most...
Unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign: TDY, PCS, OPR, ACC, BDU
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long-distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.
Military Wife has her moments--
She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to move to Siberia.
But she pulls herself together. Give her a few days, a travel brochure, along hot bath, a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture.
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.
Why? What for? How come? You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man
who puts duty first
who longs to deploy
who salutes the flag
and whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military husband,
She will remain his Military wife.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
PROPS
PROPS go to Joey for being so FANTASTIC last week. He understood how hard it would be for me to get back to work, after being home with the kids for almost a year, not just mentally, but physically, too. I haven't been awake and out of the house at 6:15AM in almost a year!
My first day, I got up, showered, started to get ready (makeup, dress, etc.) and when I came out to tackle the kids, I'd discovered that Joey had woken and dressed them, packed their school bookbags and prepared they blankets and pillows (go to school each Monday and come home Fridays) and loaded it all in the car, and their shoes and a breakfast "snack" ready by the door for them for the car ride! For the cherry on top, Joey had packed a breakfast and lunch for ME, also ready to go. All we had to do was brush their hair and teeth, and we were out the door.
He also picked them up a couple times, allowing me to come home and start dinner, alone, or just relax for a bit.
Joey did this every day last week, without complaint. And while I sit inside doing not much more than blogging, pretty unmotivated today (sort of catching my breath from last week, not quite in the routine yet), Joey is outside, washing the car, working on the lawn, and doing general "house" stuff.
I should make Joey one of my cakes.
I tell you, what a guy!
My first day, I got up, showered, started to get ready (makeup, dress, etc.) and when I came out to tackle the kids, I'd discovered that Joey had woken and dressed them, packed their school bookbags and prepared they blankets and pillows (go to school each Monday and come home Fridays) and loaded it all in the car, and their shoes and a breakfast "snack" ready by the door for them for the car ride! For the cherry on top, Joey had packed a breakfast and lunch for ME, also ready to go. All we had to do was brush their hair and teeth, and we were out the door.
He also picked them up a couple times, allowing me to come home and start dinner, alone, or just relax for a bit.
Joey did this every day last week, without complaint. And while I sit inside doing not much more than blogging, pretty unmotivated today (sort of catching my breath from last week, not quite in the routine yet), Joey is outside, washing the car, working on the lawn, and doing general "house" stuff.
I should make Joey one of my cakes.
I tell you, what a guy!
First Week on the Job
My first week back to work is done, and it was a good one! I believe I'm going to really enjoy it there, and it's a very dynamic, supportive environment.
For those interested, I've been hired as the new Tactical Decision Center (TDC) Manager. The TDC provides simulated exercise training on tactical and logistics programs. To get a better idea of what the Center provides, click here to see a video, or click here to read more.
For those interested, I've been hired as the new Tactical Decision Center (TDC) Manager. The TDC provides simulated exercise training on tactical and logistics programs. To get a better idea of what the Center provides, click here to see a video, or click here to read more.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Museum of Natural Sciences
Cooper (and Ava, too, but especially Cooper the dinosaur lover) had fun at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. They even had a live butterfly exhibit, similar to the one at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History that they went to earlier this summer.Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Dry Run
Last week, we put the kids in daycare two days, to give them a preview of what this week would be like. Surprisingly, Ava wasn't so upset about getting up early, but Cooper, wasn't enjoying it very much. His two standout comments:
"Could you please be quiet, I'm trying to sleep."
"What's the rush?"
"Could you please be quiet, I'm trying to sleep."
"What's the rush?"
New Unit
Well today I started at my deploying unit, 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU), 2d Marine Expeditionary Force. Please check out the link below.
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force
Monday, August 18, 2008
Biggest Legos Ever!
At the Marbles Museum, the Rawson Four built a Lego house, out of the biggest legos we've ever played with! It took us a good long while, but it was lots of fun finding the pieces we needed!
Marbles Museum
Before starting Heidi's new job, we decided to take a few days for fun. We headed to Raleigh and went to the Marbles Kids Museum. It was a blast! Marbles Kids Museum "inspires imagination, discovery and learning through extraordinary adventures in play." They have dress up, role playing, water play, craft stations every where, kid size everything, and oversized everthing, interactive play, kid Olympics, you name it, they have it! We could have just made the circuit and started from the beginning again and the kids would have been happy to start all over again!Sunday, August 17, 2008
New Pillows for Our Babies
One thing Cooper and Ava are required to take to school with them each week, is a clean pillow and blanket. At the end of the week, they bring it home to be washed, and return on Monday with their fresh pillow and blanket. We had travel sized pillows for them, which is perfect, but I didn't like the boring white travel size pillow cases you can purchase. So, I purchased fabric I thought they'd like, and, with fingers crossed, set out to make them pillowcases they'd love. I broke out the sewing machine (thanks to Wendy's Mom, for the lesson!) and dove in. No pattern, just measure and sew, an hour later here is what they have, with love.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Age of Aquarium
We took the kids to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. North Carolina Aquariums have three locations, and we went to the one closest to us, near Emerald Isle. The kids had a great time, and we'll go again, for sure. Hopefully, we'll get to take them to Baltimore, too.
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